President Bush outlines plan for Middle East peace and it doesn't include Hamas

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In a speech on Monday, US President George Bush outlined his plan to restart the Middle East peace effort and establish a Palestinian state. Below is an excerpt of the speech:

"The vision of President Abbas and Prime Minister [Salam] Fayyad; it's the vision of their government; it's the vision of a peaceful state called Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people. To realize this vision, these leaders are striving to build the institutions of a modern democracy. They're working to strengthen the Palestinian security services, so they can confront the terrorists and protect the innocent. They're acting to set up competent ministries that deliver services without corruption. They're taking steps to improve the economy and unleash the natural enterprise of the Palestinian people. And they're ensuring that Palestinian society operates under the rule of law. By following this path, Palestinians can reclaim their dignity and their future - and establish a state of their own."

The PA, Bush said, "must arrest terrorists, dismantle their infrastructure, and confiscate illegal weapons - as the Road Map requires. They must work to stop attacks on Israel, and to free the Israeli soldier held hostage by extremists. And they must enforce the law without corruption, so they can earn the trust of their people, and of the world. Taking these steps will enable the Palestinians to have a state of their own. And there's only way to end the conflict, and nothing less is acceptable."

"Arab states have a pivotal role to play, as well," the US President continued. "They should show strong support for President Abbas's government and reject the violent extremism of Hamas. They should use their resources to provide much-needed assistance to the Palestinian people. Nations like Jordan and Egypt, which are natural gateways for Palestinian exports, should open up trade to create opportunities on both sides of the border."

"Arab nations should also take an active part in promoting peace negotiations. Re-launching the Arab League initiative was a welcome first step. Now Arab nations should build on this initiative -- by ending the fiction that Israel does not exist, stopping the incitement of hatred in their official media, and sending cabinet-level visitors to Israel. With all these steps, today's Arab leaders can show themselves to be the equals of peacemakers like Anwar Sadat and King Hussein of Jordan." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/123095

After reading his speech you would think President Bush to be a likely candidate for the antichrist. After all, he is the most powerful man in the world with the most powerful military in the world who is a friend of Israel's and seeking Middle East peace. On top of that, he has subdued (Daniel 7:24) two kingdoms during his tenure and is eyeing a third (Iran).

Certainly, this analysis leaves a lot of blanks that would have to be filled in and other criteria would have to be outright ignored before he could even be considered but it's still interesting nonetheless.

I guess the same case could be made for virtually every US president over the last half century who has gone down the same Middle East peace road and failed...most recently US President Bill Clinton. Although he didn't subdue any kingdoms, he was wildly popular, not only in the US but around the world, and he presided over one of the greatest economic booms in recent history...and let's not forget the Oslo Accords.

Truthfully, there was a time when many believed he might turn out to be the antichrist especially when the rumor surfaced that he could be the next leader of the United Nations. Of course, that didn't work out and he's since been reduced to the lecture circuit and campaigning for his wife to be the next Democratic presidential candidate.

Personally, I don't look for Mr. Clinton to resurface as a world power, and when President Bush leaves office in 2009, I trust he will slip away from the international scene just as those before him did.

Eventually, the antichrist will surface and I believe he will come out of the European Union. Until then, we will continue on this roller coaster ride between peace and war.

But getting back to President Bush's speech. I couldn't help but notice that he was contrasting Abbas' government as the righteous kingdom and Hamas' government as a haven for terrorists. It seems pretty clear to me that both the US and Israel are campaigning for the new Palestinian state to be located only in the West Bank and be Hamas free. Whether the world will get behind their plan remains to be seen. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema has already come out against what he believes is an attempt by the West (and Israel) to isolate Hamas. He feels this would only serve to push them deeper into the open arms of Al Qaeda. It will be interesting to see how this is finally worked out.

Meanwhile, Quartet Middle East Peace Envoy Tony Blair and EU Foreign-Policy Minister Javier Solana met today over lunch to discuss Middle East peace progress. Later, Blair will be meeting with European Union officials to discuss a strategy for reenergizing the stalled peace process while Solana will be flying out to the region.

As things continue to come together I can see Bible prophecy being fulfilled very soon.

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Terry Malone